Iain Hawkes’s Reviews > Obsidio > Status Update
Iain Hawkes
is on page 120 of 618
This is honestly such a step up from the prior two books, it's kind of a wonder that it's in the same series. I know it's not unheard of for series to mature as they go on (e.g. Harry Potter), but this is only the third book. It also helps that there's less focus on teenage protagonists, and more focus on adult ones (or alternatively, teens matured enough to act as adults). Anyway, BeiTech is occupying Kanezaka...
— Jul 02, 2026 09:08PM
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Iain Hawkes
is on page 120 of 618
Also, while military sci-fi isn't really my go-to sub-genre, I will say that the 'voices' of the troopers are captured excellently, along with Rhys's horror at the slaughter he's walked into. And hey, AIDAN's still around, that's neat. Anyway, solid work so far.
— Jul 02, 2026 09:12PM
Iain Hawkes
is on page 120 of 618
...and things are dark. Dark, as in, suicide bombings, mass graves, summary executions, wounded soldiers and makeshift morgues dark. I've commented in her other works that Kaufman is no stranger to tropes, and while Alien is the source of said tropes (BeiTech is WY, the ATLAS troopers are USCMC), it doesn't feel trite here, in part because of how grim things are, and the ticking timer to retake the planet. (TBC)
— Jul 02, 2026 09:11PM